Dr Ajit Nayak

Senior Lecturer in Strategy

Dr Nayak joined the University of Exeter Business School in 2010. Dr Nayak’s primary area of interest is processual approach to understanding human agency. He is committed to engaging with philosophical ideas and developing new ways of thinking about organizations. Previously, he has examined issues relating to strategy practice, decision making, creativity, consumption, theory and entrepreneurship. He is currently working on understanding the Indian business context. Dr Nayak has published in Organization Studies, Business History, Long Range Planning, Organization and Marketing Theory.

Dr Nayak welcomes applications from PhD students interested in process and practice approaches to strategy and organizations. In particular, Dr Nayak welcomes applications from students interested in researching the Indian business context and empirically investigating strategies, structures, processes and actions of Indian organizations.

Nationality: Indian

Qualifications

BSc (Hons) Information Management and Accounting (University of Essex), MA Management Studies (University of Essex), PhD Management (University of the West of England), PG Cert HE (University of the West of England)

Research clusters

Research interests

Indian business context

Process, practice, discourse, strategy, leadership and governance

Entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation

Dr Nayak’s research interests revolve around the ways we relate to others and make our lives meaningful. He draws on process and practice philosophers, such as Henri Bergson, Martin Heidegger, William James, Alasdair MacIntyre and Paul Ricoeur to theorize organizational lives. Empirically, his main research project is on the Indian business context which aims to understand the lives, experience and networks of people who run India’s largest corporation. He also hopes to contribute to our understanding of ‘an Indian way of thinking’ and India’s success on the global stage. Overall, process, practices and identity are theoretical themes that inform all of Dr Nayak’s research. His aim is to theorize and develop new empirical avenues for researching human agency in the process of wealth creation.

Abstract:Circumventing the logic and limits of representation: Otherness in East-West approaches to paradox

Nayak A (2016). Wisdom and the tragic question: Moral learning and emotional perception in leadership and organizations. Journal of Business Ethics

Abstract:Wisdom and the tragic question: Moral learning and emotional perception in leadership and organizations

Wisdom is almost always associated with doing the right thing in the right way under right circumstances in order to achieve the common good. In this paper, however, we propose that wisdom is more associated with deciding between better and worse wrongs; a winless situation we define as tragic. We suggest that addressing the tragic question is something that leaders and managers generally avoid when focusing on business decisions and choices. Yet, raising and confronting the tragic question is important for three main reasons. Firstly, it emphasises that wisdom is about recognising that doing the ethically responsible thing can sometimes lead to acting in ways that violate different ethical norms and values. Secondly, it foregrounds the issue of emotional perception in ethical decision-making. We argue that emotions are salient in directing attention to the tragic question and recognising morally ambiguous situations. Thirdly, the tragic question has important consequences for moral learning, accepting moral culpability for wrongdoing and organizational commitment to righting the wrong. We illustrate our arguments by drawing on three mini-cases: Arjuna’s dilemma in the Mahabharata, Gioia’s deliberations about his role in the Ford Pinto fires, and the production of the abortion pill by French company Roussel-Uclaf.

In this paper I ask the question: What is the practice of creativity in organisations? I draw on "practice" theories to define creativity at the individual level as novel and appropriate ways of accomplishing tasks, and at the organisational level as the operating logic and internalised dispositions that inform activities. By integrating the two levels, I suggest that we are better able to understand the dynamics of creativity. Empirically I investigate creativity in a large UK supermarket retailer undergoing major change and transformation. My study reveals four domains of contestation that characterise the practice of creativity: intrinsic-extrinsic motivation; pleasure-control; organisational politics; and personal-corporate morality. I discuss how managers experience the tensions within each domain and argue that personal morality plays an important role in enabling creativity. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nayak A (2008). On the way to theory: a processual approach. Organization Studies, 29(2), 173-190.

Abstract:On the way to theory: a processual approach

Debates on theory have focused on the nature of good theories and the process of theorizing, but have failed to engage with the ontology of becoming emphasized by process philosophers such as Heraclitus, Bergson and James, and more recently by Cooper, Shotter and Chia. This paper argues that engaging with reality as becoming implies departing from any claims of 'essence' in theories. Theories are not representations, better or worse, of a particular phenomenon, real or socially constructed. Instead, mobility, movement and creativity are the primordial qualities of theory. A becoming ontology also points to the non-sequential, imaginative and paradoxical 'way' of theory-building. This paper argues that a processual approach which is reposed on introspective reality and the method of intuition is better suited to revealing a becoming reality.

Publications by category

Journal articles

Nayak A (2016). Wisdom and the tragic question: Moral learning and emotional perception in leadership and organizations. Journal of Business Ethics

Abstract:Wisdom and the tragic question: Moral learning and emotional perception in leadership and organizations

Wisdom is almost always associated with doing the right thing in the right way under right circumstances in order to achieve the common good. In this paper, however, we propose that wisdom is more associated with deciding between better and worse wrongs; a winless situation we define as tragic. We suggest that addressing the tragic question is something that leaders and managers generally avoid when focusing on business decisions and choices. Yet, raising and confronting the tragic question is important for three main reasons. Firstly, it emphasises that wisdom is about recognising that doing the ethically responsible thing can sometimes lead to acting in ways that violate different ethical norms and values. Secondly, it foregrounds the issue of emotional perception in ethical decision-making. We argue that emotions are salient in directing attention to the tragic question and recognising morally ambiguous situations. Thirdly, the tragic question has important consequences for moral learning, accepting moral culpability for wrongdoing and organizational commitment to righting the wrong. We illustrate our arguments by drawing on three mini-cases: Arjuna’s dilemma in the Mahabharata, Gioia’s deliberations about his role in the Ford Pinto fires, and the production of the abortion pill by French company Roussel-Uclaf.

Abstract:Co-evolution, opportunity seeking and institutional change: Entrepreneurship and the Indian telecommunications industry 1923-2009

In this paper, we demonstrate the importance for entrepreneurship of historical contexts and processes, and the co-evolution of institutions, practices, discourses and cultural norms. Drawing on discourse and institutional theories, we develop a model of the entrepreneurial field, and apply this in analysing the rise to global prominence of the Indian telecommunications industry. We draw on entrepreneurial life histories to show how various discourses and discursive processes ultimately worked to generate change and the creation of new business opportunities. We propose that entrepreneurship involves more than individual acts of business creation, but also implies collective endeavours to shape the future direction of the entrepreneurial field.

In this paper I ask the question: What is the practice of creativity in organisations? I draw on "practice" theories to define creativity at the individual level as novel and appropriate ways of accomplishing tasks, and at the organisational level as the operating logic and internalised dispositions that inform activities. By integrating the two levels, I suggest that we are better able to understand the dynamics of creativity. Empirically I investigate creativity in a large UK supermarket retailer undergoing major change and transformation. My study reveals four domains of contestation that characterise the practice of creativity: intrinsic-extrinsic motivation; pleasure-control; organisational politics; and personal-corporate morality. I discuss how managers experience the tensions within each domain and argue that personal morality plays an important role in enabling creativity. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nayak A (2008). On the way to theory: a processual approach. Organization Studies, 29(2), 173-190.

Abstract:On the way to theory: a processual approach

Debates on theory have focused on the nature of good theories and the process of theorizing, but have failed to engage with the ontology of becoming emphasized by process philosophers such as Heraclitus, Bergson and James, and more recently by Cooper, Shotter and Chia. This paper argues that engaging with reality as becoming implies departing from any claims of 'essence' in theories. Theories are not representations, better or worse, of a particular phenomenon, real or socially constructed. Instead, mobility, movement and creativity are the primordial qualities of theory. A becoming ontology also points to the non-sequential, imaginative and paradoxical 'way' of theory-building. This paper argues that a processual approach which is reposed on introspective reality and the method of intuition is better suited to revealing a becoming reality.

Abstract:The reflexive consumer

Drawing on a detailed reading of the work of Peppers and Rogers (1993, 1997, 2004, 2005), this paper argues that their work offers an emblematic problematization of traditional mass marketing, which articulates a new mentality of marketing - collaborative marketing. Collaborative marketing, implemented through the practices of CRM, reframes the role and identity of the individual consumer within producer - consumer relationships, transforming them from sovereign chooser to active collaborator, or as they are termed here, reflexive consumers. Using Foucault's concept of governmentality the paper articulates the achievement of this transformation and the central role of reflexivity in this transformation of the consumer. We conclude that in redefining the nature of marketing, RM and CRM form new relays of power linking producer and consumer and that these relays re-interpret the antagonism between freedom and subjugation that lie at the heart of producer-consumer relationships.

Nayak A (2016). Wisdom and the tragic question: Moral learning and emotional perception in leadership and organizations. Journal of Business Ethics

Abstract:Wisdom and the tragic question: Moral learning and emotional perception in leadership and organizations

Wisdom is almost always associated with doing the right thing in the right way under right circumstances in order to achieve the common good. In this paper, however, we propose that wisdom is more associated with deciding between better and worse wrongs; a winless situation we define as tragic. We suggest that addressing the tragic question is something that leaders and managers generally avoid when focusing on business decisions and choices. Yet, raising and confronting the tragic question is important for three main reasons. Firstly, it emphasises that wisdom is about recognising that doing the ethically responsible thing can sometimes lead to acting in ways that violate different ethical norms and values. Secondly, it foregrounds the issue of emotional perception in ethical decision-making. We argue that emotions are salient in directing attention to the tragic question and recognising morally ambiguous situations. Thirdly, the tragic question has important consequences for moral learning, accepting moral culpability for wrongdoing and organizational commitment to righting the wrong. We illustrate our arguments by drawing on three mini-cases: Arjuna’s dilemma in the Mahabharata, Gioia’s deliberations about his role in the Ford Pinto fires, and the production of the abortion pill by French company Roussel-Uclaf.

2013

Abstract:Co-evolution, opportunity seeking and institutional change: Entrepreneurship and the Indian telecommunications industry 1923-2009

In this paper, we demonstrate the importance for entrepreneurship of historical contexts and processes, and the co-evolution of institutions, practices, discourses and cultural norms. Drawing on discourse and institutional theories, we develop a model of the entrepreneurial field, and apply this in analysing the rise to global prominence of the Indian telecommunications industry. We draw on entrepreneurial life histories to show how various discourses and discursive processes ultimately worked to generate change and the creation of new business opportunities. We propose that entrepreneurship involves more than individual acts of business creation, but also implies collective endeavours to shape the future direction of the entrepreneurial field.

In this paper I ask the question: What is the practice of creativity in organisations? I draw on "practice" theories to define creativity at the individual level as novel and appropriate ways of accomplishing tasks, and at the organisational level as the operating logic and internalised dispositions that inform activities. By integrating the two levels, I suggest that we are better able to understand the dynamics of creativity. Empirically I investigate creativity in a large UK supermarket retailer undergoing major change and transformation. My study reveals four domains of contestation that characterise the practice of creativity: intrinsic-extrinsic motivation; pleasure-control; organisational politics; and personal-corporate morality. I discuss how managers experience the tensions within each domain and argue that personal morality plays an important role in enabling creativity. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nayak A (2008). On the way to theory: a processual approach. Organization Studies, 29(2), 173-190.

Abstract:On the way to theory: a processual approach

Debates on theory have focused on the nature of good theories and the process of theorizing, but have failed to engage with the ontology of becoming emphasized by process philosophers such as Heraclitus, Bergson and James, and more recently by Cooper, Shotter and Chia. This paper argues that engaging with reality as becoming implies departing from any claims of 'essence' in theories. Theories are not representations, better or worse, of a particular phenomenon, real or socially constructed. Instead, mobility, movement and creativity are the primordial qualities of theory. A becoming ontology also points to the non-sequential, imaginative and paradoxical 'way' of theory-building. This paper argues that a processual approach which is reposed on introspective reality and the method of intuition is better suited to revealing a becoming reality.

Abstract:The reflexive consumer

Drawing on a detailed reading of the work of Peppers and Rogers (1993, 1997, 2004, 2005), this paper argues that their work offers an emblematic problematization of traditional mass marketing, which articulates a new mentality of marketing - collaborative marketing. Collaborative marketing, implemented through the practices of CRM, reframes the role and identity of the individual consumer within producer - consumer relationships, transforming them from sovereign chooser to active collaborator, or as they are termed here, reflexive consumers. Using Foucault's concept of governmentality the paper articulates the achievement of this transformation and the central role of reflexivity in this transformation of the consumer. We conclude that in redefining the nature of marketing, RM and CRM form new relays of power linking producer and consumer and that these relays re-interpret the antagonism between freedom and subjugation that lie at the heart of producer-consumer relationships.

2005

Dr Nayak’s teaching philosophy is to encourage students to think critically and engage imaginatively with learning. His teaching interests are centred around strategy process and practice. He aims to engage students on an intellectual adventure, and inspire them to develop inquiring minds.

Dr Nayak’s is a core member of the One Planet MBA teaching team. He currently teaches on the full-time and executive module on Global Strategic Analysis and Management.